Search results matching tag 'blog'

Is Glenn Beck A Christian?

Pastor Bill — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:49:00 GMT

I have been taught from the moment I became a Christian that Jehovah Witness' and Mormons were not Christians. It all stems back to scripture - particularly 2 John: 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. (emphasis added)

So, where does Glenn fit into all of this? The Mormons do not believe Jesus is God but "a god". They believe He is a son of God - a creation of God as is Lucifer (the Devil). and that Jesus was created along side of him. All I am saying is be careful. Every one in the USA has religous & political freedom. I just believe it is against scripture to equate him with Christianity or to look at him as a leader of a Christian movement.

Something to think about.

Read the following...

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1141100

http://www.glennbeckmormon.com/

Have a great week.

Evangelism 101 - c

Pastor Bill — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:39:00 GMT

We experienced another person accepting Christ for the first time at Hillview this past Sunday. PTL!!!!!!! God is good and has blessed us. We need to continue to invite people who do not know Christ to church so they can hear the word of God. With that said, I want to comment about people coming forward in a worship service.

The Bible says, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14) Now, I could get the big head and take a lot of the credit for the ones who come to the altar. But is it really my ministry that draws them? Here's what I think. The vast majority of those who come forward and accept Christ can trace the credit back to the person who was a friend to them and invited them or encouraged them to come. I just get to put the toppings on the desert. It's not me. It's YOU! You make the impact. You live the life. You are the open Bible people see and read. That, along with the moving of God's Holy Spirit (which is essential) is what does the trick. Then, they hear the word and accept Christ.

Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

Let's keep the wave going. Invite someone to church this weekend that you've never invited before and watch God do His thing!

Evangelism 101 - b

Pastor Bill — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:00:00 GMT

What is a friend? Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times..." Friends are there no matter what. They support you, care for you, help when needed and pray for you. They are honest. They tell you things that may be difficult to bear because they love you. Specifically, a friend wants what's best for you.

Mark 2:1-5 says, "And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." Jesus not only healed the man physically but he forgave his sin.

If you knew the Master could heal one of your friends of an incurable disease, wouldn't you take him to Him? This weekend, you have the opportunity to see your friend healed - healed spiritually! Wouldn't it be AWESOME to see your friend walk down the isle of the church and come forward to accept Christ into their heart for the forgiveness of sin and see Him heal their life?

Be praying and thinking now who you could invite this weekend to hear the greatest story ever told. Make a difference in your friends life. Show them you care!

Praying for you all!

Evangelism 101-a

Pastor Bill — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:28:00 GMT

In my daily Bible readings this past week, I read the last chapter in the book of Matthew where it says, "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20) Pretty self-explanatory.

We have a mandate to go. We have a motive to go. Do we have a mind to go? The word "go" is a verb - an action word. It assumes there is going to be action on the part of the one using the word. Jesus expects action on our part.

Now, let's understand something. I'm not talking about carrying a Bible under your arm everywhere you go. But I am talking about carrying God's word around with you at all times "in your head." Having a moderate understanding of salvation as explained by Jesus is important. That way whenever anyone approaches you or you are able to speak with someone, you won't fumble around on the important stuff.

HOMEWORK - go read and memorize one verse of scripture: JOHN 3:16. We'll start there. If you memorize that verse and break it down, you have all you need along with your personal testimony of how you accepted Christ.

See you tonight in our Elder led prayer meeting.

"I'll Pray For You"

Pastor Bill — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:38:00 GMT

Doug Donovan spoke at our Men's Breakfast this morning and did a fantastic job. He talked a lot about prayer and it brought something to mind that I have to share. So often when someone brings a situation or problem to us, we say "I'll pray for you." I worry this is often used as a casual response and there is a danger of it becoming nothing more than a cliché. How serious are you when you say those words?

They are powerful words. Prayer is a powerful thing. We move Heaven and God moves earth and its events when we pray. I made a commitment a long time ago not to lie. When I tell someone I'm going to pray, as soon as I possibly can I stop what I'm doing and pray as I promised. We receive prayer requests from a lot of different avenues: personal requests, FaceBook, Twitter, the Hillview Prayer Blog and many others. We need to be more serious about prayer.

We had our first elder led prayer meeting this past Wednesday night and there were only a handful in attendance. It is so sad that God's people don't recognize where God's power is displayed so tremendously in our life. Prayers are more powerful than atomic bombs or hurricanes. Prayers have moved armies, healed the sick, helped on a school test, changed the course and direction of our lives and brought us to where we are. It's time we get serious about prayer.

We are postponing the series on I-Family until later. God has a message for all of us to hear. Be here at Hillview tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. for Sunday School and 11 a.m. for church to hear what God has to say. Begin praying now that God will use this time to change all of our lives!

Love you all.

Hillview Has Had A Great Week!

Pastor Bill — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:12:00 GMT

Trunk or Treat and the Chili Cook-Off were a huge success. Over 100 people attended Wednesday night and it was the first time for many of them. The kids and even the adults were all dressed up. There was a lot of excitement in the air. The tension ran high as our three highly qualified judges tasted each entry. The winner for the Chili Cook-Off was Carol Meeker and boy was her chili good! There are over 60 pictures in the PHOTO section of the web-site so go and check them out.

Today, we had work day at the church. We had about 20 of the Hillview faithful and a lot was accomplished. It won't be long until the new "state of the art" Audio/Visual room will be on-line.

I want to say a special thanks to EVERYONE who made this week so AWESOME by participating in the church-wide activities. It's people like you who show your love for God and a heart for Him and His church.

I also want to thank Kyle & Jessica Topy and Dwayne & Angela Young for their effort in the success of the Trunk or Treat. Special thanks to trustee Jerry Young and the crew for their hard work today for Work Day.

All of you are loved so much! Blessings.

Hang On To Your Gun

Pastor Bill — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:16:00 GMT

I was watching the movie "All Through The Night" with Jackie Gleason as Starchy and Humphrey Bogart playing Gloves Donahue. Gloves was tracking down a Nazi spy ring. An old movie but worth the watch. There was one scene where Gloves was being chased by the bad guys. He shoots at one of the villains several times and then runs out of bullets in his six-shooter. He looks frustrated at the gun and pitches it into the woods. That caught my attention. I've seen a lot of movies where people throw guns away when there empty. Why? Guns are expensive. They should hang on to them just in case they run by a place where they can buy bullets. Seems like a waste to me.

As parents, sometimes I think we throw the gun away too soon. Someone in the family has their heart set on doing something you know they shouldn't do or go where they shouldn't go. We give our defense, argue, and listen as they cry and beg and, sometimes, get very upset. So, against our good common sense, we give in and let them have their way. Is that wise?

Proverbs 19:18 says, "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." (KJV) WOW! Solomon put it very plainly. He knew the mind and attitude of the common teenager even way back in his day. In reality, children are the same now as they always have been. My wife wisely advised me one time to "pick your fights." If it's worth standing firm, stand and don't let the tears distract you from what's right. If it's something that is not distracting or dangerous, sometimes it's best to give in. But when you know it is not in the best interest of the child or family, stand your ground. Hang on to your gun and don't throw it away - proverbially speaking.

God Bless You! We're in this together.

Bill

Half Empty? Half Full?

Pastor Bill — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:12:00 GMT

We just concluded a series of services within our local conference called a "revival". Neil Gilliland from the International Missions office of our denomination spoke and did a phenomenal job. His messages were so practical and to the point. One of the things he referred to a few times during the revival was our attitude towards life.

It seems that a lot of people, maybe the majority, always look at the glass being half empty rather than half full. Now I know that we all encounter instances that are sometimes severe - like the loss of a job or the death of a loved-one. Remember this: our understanding of how big God is and the power He has is seen in our response to those "severe" times.

My dad was married to my mom for over 30 years. During the majority of her life with him, she had Multiple Sclerosis (MS). She was not even supposed to see me enjoy my 12^th birthday but she did. Later on, she was diagnosed with *** cancer - a cancer that took her life at the young age of 54. During all of this time my dad was a pastor. He not only had the care of the church he was responsible for but the care of his wife - my mom.

In all of that time, I never heard a word of regret come out of his mouth. He was happy with his beautiful wife and his job as a pastor and just trusted God that He would take care of these "severe" situations.

Whenever a situation occurs, we have a choice. We can look at it with the "half empty" mentality or we can try to understand that God has His purpose - His will planned for every situation and event in our lives.

Trust God. I know times get tough. I have been and will be there again. I have learned this past week from Neil that in all things, I need to be content and just trust the One who loves me and gave His life for me (Hebrews 13:5).

Blessings!

P.I.G.

Pastor Bill — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 13:15:00 GMT

For the past few Wednesday nights I have been challenged by a few of the young boys in our youth group to play a game that I played when I was young - P.I.G. That's the game where you shoot a basketball from somewhere on the court and, if you make it, the person following you has to make the same shot the same way. It's a little easier than its counterpart H.O.R.S.E. Needless to say I beat all four of the boys hands down two weeks ago. NO! I did not let those little boys win!!! I do have a little competitiveness in my blood (though not much). Then, this past Wednesday, I lost. A little 10 year old boy, Justin Coffey to be exact, destroyed me! I P.I.G.'ed out and he didn't even have a P. It didn't even take but about eight minutes until he had me crawling off the court with my tail between my legs.

I've learned a lot from these boys. Danny, Ray, Austin, Justin - all of them - they love to win and they LOVE beating an adult at their own game. They are good at P.I.G. and they are good boys. I learned something else. Kids like to play games and they enjoy playing with adults. In fact, it makes them feel special. Funny how we see this at school and when they are involved in recreational sports like football, softball and soccer but we miss in at the church. We think church is just for the spiritual. Well, in a way, it is. Can P.I.G. be a spiritual thing? Even though I may get a little carnal out on the court, spending quality time with the boys and showing them that I love them is a very spiritual thing.

I've worked with the children in church since I graduated high school. In fact, I spoke at a church on a Sunday night a couple weeks ago and the pastor of the church was in my Junior Boys Sunday School class and children's church over 20 years ago. I am so proud of him and the work he is doing for the kingdom. The trouble and struggles he gave me as well as all the time I spent with him were well worth it now that I see how God is using him. Amazing what level of impact we can have on those we minister to.

I want to encourage every parent, grandparent and attender to get involved with the youth of the church in some way or another. It's one of the greatest and funnest ways to make an impact on a soul. They need us! They WANT us and our involvement in their lives. Today, say a special prayer for the young people of the church. School has begun and they need those passionate prayers as they traverse through the halls of our totally secular schools. Pray also for the teachers, youth pastors and workers who invest their time in their lives.

Well, tonight will be another game of P.I.G. Watch out guys. I'm ready to beat your socks off!

Have a great day!

Time To Get Fit Part 2

Pastor Bill — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:44:00 GMT

I'm back. Wow. Wasn't as bad as I thought. Probably need to get a new bicycle seat though (ouch). The prayer time was great. Several people waved, said Hi and even spoke to me. That surprised me! It took me 30 minutes to go the 5 miles. Is that good? Bad? I peddled the whole time.

1Timothy 4:8 says, "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." Paul doesn't say "exercise is of no profit" so it must have benefit. I guess if I want to hang around this world and get as much as I can done for Christ, I should probably exercise as often as I can. I think I'll start out with riding the 5 miles every other day and increase from there.

Setting priorities is always a challenge. Many times, our activities and interests set our priorities for us. A man, woman, boy or girl that is proactive and sets their own priorities will have greater success than those who don't - who go with the flow. I think I'll move exercise up on my priority list - but not too high. God, family and many other important things need to stay at the top.

Well, I'm off to grab the peanut M&M's I used as an illustration in last nights sermon. Should be able to finish off the remainder of the 42 ounce bag I bought for $9.98 in less than half an hour!

Have a great day!